APA Newsletter  February 2001

Editress: Ginger Strivelli

In February our monthly class/ritual/meeting was held on Feb. 14th. In honor of Cupid, for our ritual, we made love charms to be given to people we knew who needed more love in their life. Our class was on building relationships with the Gods and bringing them into our everyday lives. The Feb. Witchlings’ Circle made similar wooden heart love charms, to be planted in our springtime gardens to bring love energy to fertilize the season’s flowers.

Lady Birch Langley returned to us this month and is again helping me and the rest of the APA elders to run the growing APA empire. (Thank the Gods!)

We are also planning on sending APA delegations to several Spring/Summer Pagan gatherings in the region, including one where I was asked to teach a workshop on Political Activism. (Can’t image why.) I also may be teaching my workshop on Pagan Parenting there as well. We will update that gathering’s info and other events news in the next newsletter.

From our Book of Shadows:

Elemental Invocation Riteby Paula Swaney

Earth
Element of Earth, I find you in the crest of the mountain, the pebbles that line the riverbed, the dust of the path I travel. You are the solidness of my body and the foundation on which I stand and I am one with you.

Air
Element of Air, I find you in the breeze that touches my face, the clouds that present me pictures in the sky, and the movement of Autumn leaves. You are my breath of life, and my wind of intellect, and I am one with you.

Fire
Element of fire, I find you in the molten lava of a volcano's eruption, the crackling warmth of the hearth's flame, and the arid heat of the desert day. You are the driving force of my will, and the flame of my passion and I am one with you.

Water
Element of Water, I find you in the oceans ever changing tides, the quiet stillness of the lake, and the crashing thunder of the waterfall. You are my cleansing tears, and waves of emotion and I am one with you.

Depression/Negativity Banishing Bath Spell By Ginger Strivelli

Add one ounce of peppermint extract, one rose quartz crystal, and a piece of fallen tree bark to a hot bath. Use the tree bark as a wash cloth.

They sit in a triangle clasping hands, while holding a stone in each of the clasped hands. (One Amethyst, One Rose Quartz, and One Aquamarine) With their eyes closed, and a blanket over their heads, they then “go to visit the dragons, and other magical beings.”

Prosperity Candle Spellby Ginger Strivelli

Heat up one gold pillar candle, in the sunlight until the skin is slightly molten. Roll the candle in Cinnamon, then press coins, rhinestones, and seashells into the sides to decorate. You must do this quickly before the wax resets. While performing this crafting, invoke a Prosperity or Wealth God, such as Lakshmi, Genesha, or The Holly King.

“Merry Meet the Gods”

Baba Yaga: Slavic Autumn Witch Goddess.
Bast: Egyptian Cat Goddess, protectress of all animals and guardian of Temples and holy ground.
Bacchus: Roman God of Wine, feasting and indulgence.
Balarama: the eight avatar of the Hindu God, Vishnu the Preserver.
Balder: The Nordic God of death.
Biliku: Spider Goddess of the Andanese Islands. Goddess of storytelling, weaving, fate, and magic.
Brigid/Brigit/Bride: The Irish Goddess of fire, light, and the Sun.
Bhaisajyaguru: Buddhist Tibetian Healer God
Boreas: Greek/Roman God of the North Wind.
Brahma: Hindu Creator God, one of the triad o supreme Hindu Gods, (along with Shiva the destroyer and Vishnu, the preserver.)
Butterfly Maiden: Hopi Indian Goddess of Spring time, one of the Kachina ‘sacred dancers.’
Buadza: African God of Wind
Buddha: The “enlightened’ one of the Buddhist faith.
Buriyas: Iranian War God
Behanzin: West African God of fishermen
Belenus: Celtic Sun God. Also a God of healing, light, enlightenment, and joy.
Bhairava: A form of the God Shiva, who is the fierce and ruthless guardian God of doorways and thresholds.
Benzaiten: Japanese Dragon Goddess of Good Luck, (also called by the name, Benten ) She is invoked to protect people from earthquakes, as well as in matters of luck.

Thoughts to Contemplate

“We are the flow, We are the ebb, we are the weaver, we are the web.”
Traditional Pagan Chant

“You can’t fool Mother Nature.”
Old Margarine Commercial

“Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering.”
Arthur C. Clarke

“The Earth is the cradle of Humanity. But one doesn't always live in the cradle." Konstantin Tsiokolvsky